Les Hydropathes, Troisieme Traitement

Charles-Émile Jacque produced numerous satires of physicians and medical practices in his series Les Malades et les Médicins. This scene, which depicts a water treatment involving distinct stages of drinking followed by submersion and then sweating, shows a patient nearly suffocated while lying in bed under a towering pile of pillows. Meanwhile, a servant has arrived to dust.

The servant comments, “I believe, sir, that you are now sufficiently covered up, all that remains is to put your mirrored armoire on top of you, but that might hurt you in the state you’re in. If your doctor arrives, he will be content because he had recommended that you be put in water … (aside) provided he doesn’t end up on the bier.”